Is Bud Selig softening his stance on Pete Rose's ban?

Four Corners

Ban about Giamatti Peter Schmuck, Baltimore Sun

Every time Bud Selig allows Pete Rose to show up at a ballpark for some nostalgic promotion, the conversation starts anew about the possibility that Rose's lifetime ban will be lifted and he will become eligible for the Hall of Fame. And every time, so far, there has been no real change in Selig's stubborn adherence to the decision made by late commissioner Bart Giamatti in 1989.

Speculate away, but I have always believed that Selig feels a duty to the memory of Giamatti to keep the ban in place and, really, what has Rose done over the past 21 years that would make anyone want to forgive and forget? He stubbornly denied gambling on baseball for years, then finally made a for-profit confession in his book "My Prison Without Bars."

Selig again seems to be taking the middle ground. He doesn't want to blot Rose completely out of the history of the game, but he is in no hurry to let him all the way back in, either.

Sympathetic to fans Juan C. Rodriguez, Sun Sentinel

Bud Selig may not have any interest in reinstating Rose, but he doesn't want to wipe him off the sport's annals either.

Rose is a Cincinnati icon and owner of one of the game's cherished records. Selig giving the Reds his blessing to mark the 25th anniversary of Rose passing Ty Cobb on the all-time hits list isn't indicative of a philosophical shift.

Was he softening in 2007 when he allowed the Reds Hall of Fame to display a 2,000-square-foot exhibit on Rose's playing career? Selig can keep Rose out of Cooperstown and from working in the game he loves. Some, such as former Commissioner Fay Vincent, disagree, but Selig is being sensible in not denying fans opportunities to remember the positive aspect of Rose's legacy.

Best hope beyond Selig Lance Pugmire, Los Angeles Times

Pete Rose's appearance at Great American Ballpark will certainly evoke raucous cheering.

But baseball officials have been as blunt as to say the ship has sailed in regard to denying Rose reinstatement from the 1989 ban. Rose did himself no favors by denying his gambling for years, only to come clean in a cash-making book.

The 69-year-old Rose, interviewed by the Times Wednesday, said he now fully understands the gravity of being "hard-headed" in his past denial, and said he's appreciative that Selig has given his blessing for Sunday's event.

That's significant. Rose was told by Bart Giamatti, the commissioner who banned him, to "reconfigure" his life. Should he continue to prove he has, baseball -- even if it's in a post-Selig era -- should reconsider its penalty and reinstate "Charlie Hustle," who built his legend in the pre-steroid era.

Tip of cap to Reds owner Phil Rogers, Chicago Tribune

Pete Rose returns to the diamond in Cincinnati on Saturday.

Commissioner Bud Selig has given the Reds permission to celebrate the 25th anniversary of the hit king's breaking Ty Cobb's all-time hits record.

Rose backers hope it's a sign that Selig's opposition to allowing him to be considered for the Hall of Fame is waning, but I don't see it that way. From here, it seems more a tip of the cap from Selig to Reds owner Bob Castellini than to Rose himself. There's going to be no happy ending between Selig and Rose before the commissioner retires. Selig and others in the MLB establishment believe a Rose double-cross triggered Bart Giamatti's fatal heart attack. To them, his arrogance and chutzpah are the unforgiveable crime. Nothing's changing that.